Trash talk needs government action

A man sleeps as others clean up a beach. Government-backed cleanups are a start but need to translate into infrastructure and policy enforcement, says Nipe Fagio. Photo: Daniel Hayduk

The government may be backing monthly cleanups, but telling people to clean up doesn’t work if there’s nowhere to put the trash, says public advocacy group Nipe Fagio.

“Cleanups alone will not solve the problem. We need urgent government support, most notably in the areas of infrastructure and policy enforcement in order to affect real change,” says Nipe Fagio director Tania Hamilton.

During cleanup campaigns, these critical gaps result in piles of uncollected rubbish and the burning of waste, says Hamilton.

“Identifying these challenges is an important step in establishing potential avenues for both public and private stakeholders.”

Following President John Magufuli’s Independence Day cleanup last December, the Vice-President’s office for Union Matters and Environment decreed that the last Saturday of every month should be used for cleaning.

Yes, that means tomorrow (February 27) is a cleanup day.

Only 40 percent of Dar’s 4200 tonnes of garbage created daily ends up in the landfill, earning Dar the label of 12th dirtiest city in the world.